Federal prosecutors in New York have accused R. Kelly of bribing a government employee in 1994 to get a fake ID for then-15-year-old singer Aaliyah Haughton so he could marry her.
The New York Times reported that authorities have added the allegation against Kelly, 52, onto his previous racketeering indictment. The deceased singer is identified in the latest indictment as “Jane Doe #1.”
Aaliyah reached stardom with her hit May 1994 single “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number,” which was penned by Kelly. Later that year, stories circulated that a 27-year-old Kelly secretly married the 15-year-old in Illinois—with Vibe magazine publishing the purported marriage license.
Aaliyah was reportedly listed as 18 on the license; her parents were said to have had the marriage annulled in February 1995.
Neither Aaliyah not Kelly ever acknowledged the union. Aaliyah was 22 when died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001.
Kelly has been in federal custody in Illinois since July for 13 criminal counts, including child pornography and obstruction of justice. He was also charged with five federal counts in New York for racketeering and sex trafficking.
Kelly is also facing a total of 21 sex-related criminal charges in Cook County, Illinois — 11 which were filed in May and 10 in February. Those state charges reportedly stem from incidents dating as far back as 1998 and involve at least three underage girls.
In August, authorities in Minnesota charged Kelly with two counts of prostitution with a person under 18 in connection with an alleged 2001 incident.
Kelly’s federal trial in Illinois is scheduled to begin in April. His federal trial in New York is slated to start the following month. The singer has categorically denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.
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[Featured image: R. Kelly, Aaliyah Haughton/AP Photo/File]
